The Blue and the Purple
by Ranger Turien
Summary: When trouble seems to come at his former apprentice from every side, Halt decides to find out who is responsible. But his investigation may prove to be disastrous, and Halt and Will once again realize that, while there is good in all people, that good is almost nonexistent in certain of them.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or any of its characters. All rights to John Flanagan._

**Title: (Needs a Title! Please include suggestions in your reviews)**

**Rating: T for violence and angst. That's pretty much it, I think.**

**Characters: Will Treaty and Halt O'Carrick (mainly) but most likely with a good dose of Horace, Alyss, and Gilan.**

**Summary: When trouble seems to come at his former apprentice from every side, Halt decides to find out who is responsible. But his investigation may prove to be disastrous, and Halt and Will once again realize that, while there is good in all people, that good is almost nonexistent in certain of them.**

_**WARNINGS: Violence and angst. Maybe torture. I'm not sure yet; don't have the plot all figured out. Like all of my stories, this contains NO SEX, SLASH, OR PROFANITY.**_

_*****Author's note***: This is my first Ranger's Apprentice Angst/Action fic. I hope that you like it, and that I can keep the characters in Canon.**_

_**I wrote this for myself at first, not planning to upload it on , but when I started Chapter Two, I decided I wanted other peoples' opinions on it. So, here it is. Please, please, help me with a title.**_

_**SPOILER WARNING: This Chapter contains spoilers for Book 9. Don't read if you don't like. Nothing too bad, you might not even catch it. I just wanted to warn you.**_

Chapter One

The small green and grey cloaked figure on the shaggy, barrel-shaped grey horse, at first glance, did not seem like a threat.

He was utterly and completely relaxed, leaning back in the saddle, trotting easily along the road. Not to mention his small size.

It was only when you looked closer that you could see that he could be quite dangerous. Across his knees lay a massive longbow, strung, and seemingly ready for use. Slung over his back was a quiver stocked full of two dozen black-shafted arrows, fletched with grey.

Had it been possible to delve even more deeply, beneath the shadows of the cowl of his cloak, it was clear that the young man was anything but relaxed. His eyes darted around restlessly; left to right, sometimes looking close, sometimes looking far off. Nothing, not the slightest stir in the leaves of the surrounding woods, escaped his notice.

Will Treaty, King's Ranger, knew that danger often lurked along this road; hemmed in on either side by the dense wood that it cleaved in two, it provided a perfect ambush site.

But any bandits would have been fools to attempt to ambush a Ranger. For one, even if Will didn't see them, his horse would have noticed them long before he could have. Tug, like all Ranger horses, was trained to give his rider a warning should he sense anything wrong.

Yet another precaution was in the form of the black and white Border Shepherd that trotted at Tug's heels. Will had trained Ebony well, and there were few things as sure as a dog's nose.

But, as it was, the ride continued onward without the need for it. When at last Will and his small party reached the end of the wood, he squinted in the sunlight. Practically the whole stretch of path had been a massive canebrake, the boughs of the trees hanging low over the path, in some places blocking out the sun completely. Will was not one to complain about passing through it without incident.

As a matter of fact, the young Ranger's life had been fairly easy since the incident in Nihon-Ja two years ago, albeit a bit boring. For Will, who was used to constant excitement and danger, relaxing back into a normal routine could be a bit of a trial at times.

But that routine had been broken when, two months ago, a series of robberies in a fief adjoining his had broken out. The fief's Ranger had been busy with other matters, and Will had been chosen to investigate.

It had turned out to be a bit of a problem even for a Ranger of Will's experience. The bandits who performed the robberies were cunning and ruthless; leaving no one alive to witness to their acts should they have been seen. And they themselves had holed up all over the fief, only coming together at the time of their next strike.

Yet, in three weeks, Will had managed to get the problem sorted out, and the bandits now resided in the dungeons of Castle Meric.

Now, he was returning to Redmont, not unhappy to be going back to the cabin he shared with his former mentor, Halt, in the woods outside of Wensley.

He smiled slightly at the thought. Halt could be a bit gruff at times, but Will had formed an extremely close bond with the older Ranger, more like father and son than mentor and apprentice.

Besides, once he'd gotten to know him, he'd discovered that Halt wasn't as harsh and coldhearted as he'd thought. The older Ranger had a soft side to him; though he loathed admitting it.

Tug's pace quickened, as if the little horse had read Will's mind. He broke into an easy canter as Will tightened his legs around his girth just the slightest bit.

Ebony began running, keeping up with the horse easily. Both she and Tug knew what the familiar sights meant.

They were almost there. Almost home. Less than an hour of riding left and they would see the familiar sight of Castle Redmont rising up in the distance.

Thoughts of home had caused Will's thoughts to wander a little, but he was jerked back to the present as he heard Tug's warning snort.

The horse shook his head, prancing a bit.

Will placed a hand on his neck to quiet him.

"Easy, boy," he said, in a low, soothing voice, relaxing in the saddle.

Once more his eyes darted around under his hood. But he saw nothing. No hint of movement in the trees. Except...

He stopped searching when he saw it; a thin wisp of smoke rising above the landscape.

Normally, the sight would have alarmed Will little, but now, what with Tug's warning, Ebony's uneasiness, and the fact that this area was little travelled and the woods were overgrown and unfriendly to travelers, he wasn't quite at ease.

He contemplated investigating for a moment, and then decided that it would be worth it. It could be nothing, but it could be something that he would like to know.

Silently, he dismounted Tug, his longbow ready for use.

He moved soundlessly into the woods, instinctively placing his feet so that he did not so much as snap a single twig beneath them.

Sure enough, he came to the edge of a small clearing. In the center of it were the blackened remains of a campfire, and he could clearly see where a camp had been set up.

But, now, everything had been taken.

Will stepped up to the very edge of the clearing, leaning with his back against a tree, looking around for any sign that anyone was still here.

It could just have been a simple traveler's campsite. True, the area was not often travelled, but at times it was, as was any road.

But the fact that the campsite was less than an hour's travel from Wensley was confusing. Had it been a simple traveler, they most likely would have pressed on until they reached the village, unless they did not know how close they were... or they didn't wish to be found in civilization.

Once Will was sure that no one was waiting around, he stepped cautiously into the clearing.

From the looks of the fire, it had begun to rain. Obviously, if the campers were trying to hide the fire, they were inexperienced. Now the blaze had gone out, but the smoldering embers still sent up a bit of smoke, the smoke that had led Will to the site.

He nudged the embers with a stick, and then looked around.

They'd cleaned up the site well. At first glance, he could see very few things out of place. The only things that were left were the campfire and the small holes in the ground from tent pegs.

Even Will was impressed by the care they'd taken. The majority of average people would not have bothered to tidy up their campsites as well as these had. Even the footprints and, most likely, hoof prints of the campers and their horses had been washed away by the rain.

But this just confused him more. Why would they take such care if they were ordinary travelers?

Will scanned the area once more before deciding that there was nothing more to be seen or found there. He would tell Halt about it, ask the older Ranger what he thought. Then together they would decide if it was a possible threat and what they should do about it.

Will could handle such decisions on his own; he'd been trained to, after all, but it helped to have someone else saying that his thoughts were good ones. Or pointing out flaws in his plans.

He grinned to himself as he thought that. That was what Halt was there for, after all.

Will backed away from the clearing, back to the road where he'd left Tug and Ebony.

He had nearly reached them when something caught his eye; something out of place in the wood.

Will looked again to make sure he'd truly seen something, and saw it again. A brief spot of purple.

He made to investigate, moving over to where he saw it, and finding it. A shred of purple cloth caught on a briar.

He fingered it, pulling it from the thorn, examining it closely.

The color brought back unpleasant memories of the Genovesan assassins who had nearly killed Halt.

Will shook the thought from his mind and pocketed the shred, then gave two short whistles.

Tug came trotting out from behind the bush where he was hidden, Ebony on his heels.

Will mounted up, laying the longbow across his lap, tightening his legs around Tug's girth slightly.

The horse broke into his easy trot again. And Will settled back to his natural watching.

It was as if the odd campfire had never happened. He could have forgotten about it had there not been a nagging sensation in the back of his mind that something just wasn't right about it.

Will shrugged the feeling even further back. Whatever it was, he'd know it when he saw it. For now, he was simply looking forward to getting home.

0o0o0o0

_To Be Continued..._

A/N: Okay, so, how was that. We'll see Halt in the next chapter, which is already in progress. I know it wasn't very exciting, but, then again, first chapters never are.

Fare thee well, I say!

~Ranger Turien


	2. Chapter 2

**TURIEN: Alrighty. Now, I need someone to do the disclaimer. Any volunteers?... no?... Okay. I'll have to pick one of you. Halt!**

**HALT: No.**

**TURIEN: Awww... come on, be nice!**

**HALT: No.**

**TURIEN: I will steal your coffee and hide it.**

**HALT: You'd better not. You'll be staring cross-eyed at an arrow if you do.**

**TURIEN: Please?**

**HALT: *rolls eyes* Fine. She does not and never will own Ranger's Apprentice. She doesn't own me, even though she tries to pretend she does. Don't trust her. Ever.**

**TURIEN: Hey! Well, what he said. Except for the last two sentences. I'm perfectly trustworthy! *shifty eyes***

Chapter Two

Ranger Halt O'Carrick sat in his old cabin outside of Wensley village in Redmont Fief. The late autumn sky had darkened quickly, bringing with it a chill in the air.

Halt shook his head. He was getting old. There was no denying the fact. He felt everything more easily now; the cold, the heat, cramping muscles from sleeping on the ground.

With a sigh, he remembered the old days, when he could traipse through the woods for hours without tiring, out on missions or training his apprentices; Gilan, and then, later, Will. Now, so many years later, he had to rest much more often.

He ran his whetstone across the edge of his saxe knife and snorted derisively, scolding himself. What was he even thinking? He could still shoot as well as he could then, and ride too, and could move through the woods undetected even by many of the Rangers.

No, he still had plenty of time.

He turned his attention to the pot of coffee that boiled steadily on the fire. He gave it an approving look before turning back to honing his knife.

He'd made extra coffee that evening. Today was when his former apprentice was expected to return. So far, though, there was no sign of Will.

Halt shrugged it off, knowing that, oftentimes, you couldn't rely on Rangers to be where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be.

It was a sort of trademark of the Ranger Corps, he guessed. They were there if they could be there, came when duty did not keep them. They were not enslaved to a tight schedule like many other people.

It was one of the things Halt liked, this lack of formality. He'd never enjoyed it, and preferred to take care of things his own way. Always had, always would.

Abelard's nicker of greeting came from outside, and Halt smiled; a rare thing for him, usually reserved only for his former apprentices. And, of course, Pauline.

Will was here.

He took the younger Ranger's mug from its place and poured it full of coffee. After all, why not surprise Will by being generous for once?

The sound of soft hoof beats could be heard outside, then they stopped, and there was a light _thud_ as Will dismounted.

The porch step creaked, and the door squealed on its hinges as the cloaked figure pushed it open.

"Good evening, Halt!" Will cried cheerfully.

Halt covered his face in a mask of indifference as his former apprentice plopped down in a chair across from him. Halt snorted.

"About time," he said, gruffly, but Will could easily see the slight twinkle in the older Ranger's eye; the only thing that betrayed the truth; that Halt truly was glad to see him.

Of course, Will could have known that even without the twinkle, for he knew that Halt was immensely fond of him.

And the feeling was mutual; Will was equally fond of Halt.

"Oh, Halt," he complained, "It has only been a few hours since sundown. And, if I do recall, I specified only the date, not the time. Therefore, there is nothing absurd about the hour," he stated, matter-of-factly. Halt looked up.

"Well, if you want to put it that way, it is nearly midnight, so you almost missed the day itself on top of it all," he said, raising an eyebrow. Will's grin broadened.

"And you're always on time, I presume? You're never hours, even days late?" Halt rolled his eyes slightly at the comment.

"Enough of this banter," he said, "The coffee's getting cold." Will nodded.

"Wouldn't want that," he agreed, spooning a generous amount of honey into his mug and downing it in what seemed like one monstrous gulp. Halt shook his head.

"You'll give yourself indigestion if you don't slow down," he scolded. Will wiped his mouth on his sleeve, looking up at him.

"I suppose. But, truly, Halt, no one makes coffee like you do. I'm quite sure of it; I've been all over the world and there's no coffee I've ever liked better."

Halt raised an eyebrow. "Well, I haven't been making it all these years for nothing."

Will just grinned at him, already pouring his second cup.

"So, if I might ask, how did it go in Meric fief?" Halt asked after Will had set his mug down. Will shrugged.

"Well enough. Not much action; a bit boring, actually. It was mostly just tracking them down and figuring out where they would go and what they would do next. The actual arrest wasn't difficult at all, once I knew more about them. Though, I must admit, they'd nearly caught me a few times," he finished. Halt cocked his head.

"Sounds like plenty action to me," he said, with his usual disregard for grammar. Will raised an eyebrow, a gesture he'd subconsciously picked up from his mentor.

"Well, it can't really be counted as such after Mackindaw, Clonmel, and Nihon-Ja, can it?" Will pointed out.

"You have a point," Halt stirred his second mug of coffee absently and, to anyone who didn't know him, disinterestedly.

Will leaned back in his chair, and silence fell on the little cabin. Halt glanced at Will briefly as his former apprentice shifted. There was an odd hitching sound in his breath, like he was in pain.

"What's wrong?" he asked, frankly. Will turned to him.

"I don't know. What do you mean?" Halt gave him a pointed look.

"You know what," he said, reproachfully. Will sighed.

"It's nothing, Halt," he said, "I strained my back when I twisted out of reach of a bandit's dagger. He nearly got me, and the jerk made me stumble, so I fell. It's a little stiff." Halt nodded.

"Even something that simple could be debilitating for a Ranger," he stood, circling around to Will's back, probing the muscles with his fingers, expertly working out the kinks. Will shuddered.

"I know that," he said, "But really, I thought it was something that would work itself out." Halt snorted.

"And just when I thought I was getting old and decrepit, it turns out that my apprentice is just as bad," he muttered, and then added, "Remember that whenever you feel like commenting on my age." Will smiled, but the smile turned into a grimace as Halt touched a particularly sore spot.

"That hurt," he said, a note of accusation in his voice. Halt grunted irritably.

"It's supposed to hurt," he said, "I should think that you of all people would know that by now." Will rolled his eyes and mimicked him, confident that Halt couldn't see him.

"I can sense what you're doing," Halt said at that moment, reproachfully. Will started just the slightest bit.

"Wait—what—how-?" he asked, incredulous. Halt did not reply for a minute, leaving the younger Ranger to wonder when he managed to get himself telepathic abilities.

Then, at last, he said, "I know you too well, Will." Will chuckled at this, his surprise gone like a puff of breath on a cold day.

"Ah, of course," he teased, "But that doesn't mean I can't sneak up on you at the Gatherings."

It was stuff of legends; the famous Halt caught off guard. Last Ranger Gathering, Will had finally managed to outfox his former mentor, disappearing the day before and then trailing him the entire way, effectively finding Halt's hiding place and catching him right there.

Unfortunately, it had just so happened that Gilan had passed by at that moment and seen what was going on. It wasn't long before the gossip had begun to circulate among the Rangers that Halt had been outmaneuvered by his own apprentice.

Halt had known, of course, who it had been, for he'd seen Gilan a few seconds before Will had attacked him, and knew that his other former apprentice would not waste a minute in spreading the news.

He'd given Gilan death glares that the younger Ranger would never forget that whole Gathering, and Gilan always turned away, obviously pretended to be innocent.

As it was, the incident caused ceaseless amusement at Halt's expense, and the senior Ranger had vowed to get revenge on his two apprentices, which he got by means of stealing Gilan's coffee beans the day that the Gathering ended, before he could return home.

As for Will, he'd hidden theirs in the woods, making his own way out there and not sharing with Will for a week, when the younger Ranger finally broke down and ran into town to buy some more beans.

At that point, Halt revealed his stash, and a very disgruntled Will had his first coffee in a week, while Halt admonished him about teasing him whenever other Rangers were involved.

Halt gave Will his all too well known death glare.

"Don't mention that if you like your coffee," he warned, and Will backed off. He would have liked to keep going on the subject, but the warning note in Halt's voice told him that his former mentor was serious.

When Will had rode up to the cabin, he'd planned to tell Halt about what he'd found; but during their casual talk he'd completely forgotten about it.

It would be more than a week later that he remembered. And, by then, it would be too late.

_To Be Continued..._

_A/N: How was that? I don't know about you, but I can't get enough of those two. _

_It'll probably be about two more chapters until the action starts, so sorry for the boring parts. They've gotta be done, though._

_**REVIEW RESPONSES:**_

**WayTooHappy—**Thanks for your review. I write a little choppily, I think, because I'm juggling details and action. My first chapters are always a bit choppy, and, frankly, I can never seem to make them work. But thanks.

**BlackShaftedArrow- ***chuckles self-consciously* I don't think I'm that good. I mean, they're the real masters. I guess I just write the characters more the way their authors write them. It just seems more natural. I am, sadly, almost finished with the series. When I read book 12, then I'm going back to 1 and reading it again! I have that song memorized, by the way, and I drive my family crazy singing it all the time. It's so catchy!

**Elvishrangerwolf—**Thanks for the suggestions! I'll consider them.

**Wolfkin1—**Hahaha! That would be the ultimate compliment from Halt. You've just gotta love him. Honestly, I don't see how anyone couldn't. Thank you so much :)

**Wildwolf13—**Thank you! I'm looking over them, trying to figure out one that fits. It would be easier if I knew the plot. Quite frankly, I don't really have a plot figured out for this one. I guess it's cause the Rangers live in my head. If I did have a plot, they'd end up changing it, so I'm just letting it play out.

**)(**

_Wow! Five reviews! The best I've had in... well, period. I don't think I've ever had so many for one chapter in any of my stories._

_Also, for everyone who sticks through this, I'm making coffee at the end for anyone who sticks around. And, yes, Halt, Will, Gilan, and Horace will be at the coffee party._

_See you!_

_~Turien_


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